Ring mill construction



Nov. 4, 1947. E. B. HUDSON 2,430,054

RING HILL CONSTRUCTION Filed lay 16, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGURE 3 wvc/wio c ilumB-Hu ww NOV. 4, 1947. 5, a, HUDSON 2,430,054

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Nov. 4,1947. E. a. HUDSON 2,430,054

1mm um. cons'raucnon Filed lay 16, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 rb'SZ FIGURE 6 gvwcmloc- %m3 ww @ZZIMQM Patented Nov. 4, 1947 uiiirso STATES PATENT oFFlca RING MILL CONSTRUCTION Edwin E. Hudson, Middletown, Ohio, assignor to The American Rolling Mill Company, Middletown, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application May 16, 1944, Serial No. 535,809

- 14 Claims.

My invention relates to rolling mills having a pair of small working rolls operating directly upon the working piece. The working rolls are backed by backing rolls of sufficient diameter and stiffness to support the working rolls and reduce their bending under the rolling pressure, The arrangement of rolls outlined characterizes the familiar four-high mills in general use. In such mills the reduced area of contact of the Working rolls with the work piece reduces separating forces, and thereby somewhat reduces the load on the mill bearings.

Nevertheless, in mill design, the greatest weakness lies in mill bearings which must sustain the separating forces of rolling. Overloaded bearings have a short life and must be replaced often. The costs of such replacements, aswell as the cost of delays caused by failures and replacements, must be added to the rolling costs.

Mills in which the rolling loads are principally sustained by rings surrounding neck portions of the outer rolls of a three-high mill have heretofore been suggested, as in the Palmgren United States Patents 1,908,268 and 1,908,269, By means of such construction, the bearing loads may be reduced to values within the rated capacity of relatively small bearings, since the roll necks roll upon the rings, and the duty of additional bearings is primarily that of maintaining the vertical alignment of the rolls. Mills built in accordance with the Palmgren patents have been successful; but they have been limited to three-high mills, so that it was not possible to have two small working rolls engagin 'the work. For the same reduction, the separating forces on the mill rolls in a three-high mill are considerably higher than those in a four-high mill where neither work roll has to be of sufficient diameter to serve as a backing roll.

An object of my invention is to provide a successful and operable ring-type mill having a pair of relatively small working rolls, and the solution of the problems inherent in the provision of such a structure.

It is an object of my invention to provide a ring mill in which the separating forces are equal and opposite and are taken up by the rings. It is an object of my invention to provide a new means for screwdown or strip gauge adjustment in such a mill, this means being an off-center ring-positioning roll which may be moved for screwdown adjustment. An object is to mount the adjusting roll with its neck surfaces in contact with the inside faces of the rings so as toavoid those recurrent gauge variations which are produced in 2 the Palmgren mills by deviations of the inside and outside ring surfaces from true concentricity,

Put in another way, objects of my invention have to do with eliminating the disadvantages of the four-high mill construction by drastically reducing bearing loads, and by reducing the spring in the system to such a degree that crowned rolls are no longer required. I

Other important objects of my invention are the solution of differential screwdown problems in a mill .of the type hereinafter described, as well as the solution of other problems in the construction, design and operation of mills, as will be apparent hereinafter.

These and other objects of my invention, which will later be set forth or will be readily understood by the skilled worker upon reading these specifications, I accomplish by that construction and arrangement of parts, of which I shall now describe a preferred embodiment. Reference is made to the drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my preferred mill.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view thereof from the front of the mill, certain parts being cut away along the center line.

Figure 3 is a partial elevational view, with a portion in section, showing details of the window opening in the side frame members of the mill.

Figure 41s a plan view of a screwdown motor and certain of the attendant parts.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the mill taken in the direction of rolling alon the section line VV of Figure 6.

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view of the mill in the direction of the extent of the rolls and is related to section line VIVI.

Figure 7 is. a partial horizontal sectional view taken along the section line VIIV1I of Figure 5.

In my mill I provide a spaced pair of side plates or frame members I which may be of lighter construction than those employed in mills where the frame members must sustain a screwdown load. I provide my frame members with foot portions 3| adapted to rest upon foundation supports 32. The frame members 1 are maintained in spaced relationship by suitable transverse pieces, of'

which I have illustrated four. Figure 5 shows a top cross brace '33 in the form of a shelf with a depending front flange. To support the strip guides, I provide a pair of transverse braces 34 and 35 below the level of the mill pass. At the bottom of the frames there is another transverse brace or bridge 36.

In my mill the principal load carrying elements are the massive rings I. The work rolls are indicated at and 6, beyond which lie backing rolls 3 and 4. Another roll 2 is interposed between backing roll 4 and the rings I to provide for the correct direction in the rotational relationship of work roll 5 to the ring I. Preferably, rolls 2, 3 and 4 are made of the same size and are interchangeable. 1

The rolls 2, 3 and 4, as most clearly shown in Figure 6, are provided with bearings 2", 3" and 4" in Independent checks or bearing blocks 2', 3", 4'. The checks are vertically slidable in windows I of the side plates I of the mill, ex cepting that in my preferred construction the chocks 3' for the bearings of roll 3 are preferably mounted slidably in windows 8' in balance frames 8 which, in turn, are slidably mounted in windows I.

The bearings just described engage supplementary roll necks at the extremes of the backing rolls. The main roll necks are indicated at 2', 3' and 4'. The main necks 2 and 3' of the respective outer backing rolls directly engage the inner surfaces of the massive rings I.

The work rolls 5 and 6 are mounted in bearings in checks 24 and 25 which, preferably, are slidably mounted in chocks 8" of the balance frames 8, as illustrated most clearly in Figure 1. The chocks 2" for the upper roll 2 are preferably provided with vertical suspending means, which may be eye-bolts 29 and rings 31 engageable with hook-like projections 38 on these chocks. The eye-bolts may pass through integral ears 39 on side frames I, where. they areheld in adjustment position by nuts, as shown.

In my preferred construction. the work rolls 5 and I5 are driven by spindles in the conventional manner. In Figure 6 I have shown the work rolls as having fluted ends to be engaged by spindles. The rolls 2, 3 and 4 are frictionally driven by barrel contact with the work rolls or with each other. They have neck contact with the rings I whereby the rings. themselves are frictionally driven.

To adjust the pass between work rolls 5 and 6 for gauge control, I provide an off-center roll 9 having neck portions 9' for engaging the inside surfaces of the rings I. This roll is shown in Figures 5 and 7. On an outer neck at each end, it has bearings 9" in chocks 9. These checks are horizontally slidable in extensions 1" of the windows in the frame members I, as is most clearly shown in Figure 3. The roll 9 is located in such a position that it does not interfere with the pass line of the mill. Since its checks are horizontally movable, the roll 9 may be employed to adjust the position of the rings I so as to exert more or less vertical pressure for screwdown purposes on the vertical stacked rolls 2 to B inclusive. For screwdown adjustment, I mount screws or threaded shafts III rotatably in the housings I, as shown most clearly in Figure '7. Nuts 40 are mounted on these threaded shafts and are connected by U-bolts II to the chocks 9' of the adjusting roll 9. Rotation of the threaded shafts It will move the nuts to in horizontal directions, thereby moving the checks 9" outwardly in the horizontal window extensional" or permitting them to move inwardly toward the rolls 2 to 6 inclusive. An outward movement of these checks increases the screwdown pressure on the work rolls, as willnow be understood; but it should be pointed out that due to the wedging action of the inside surfaces of the rings I, the screwdown pressure is very greatly multiplied, with very 4 little of it being sustained directly either by the bearings of the rolls 2 and 3 or by the bearings of the adjusting roll 9.

For driving the threaded shafts I Ii, I spline sprockets I2 to them and, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, I pass driving means, such as a chain I3, around these sprockets and certain others hereinafter to be described, including the sprocket I4. This latter sprocket is splined on a shaft 4I (Figure 4) rotatably mounted on a frame member I and also bearing a splined sprocket II. A chain or other suitable drive connects the sprocket II with a sprocket IE on the drive shaft of a screwdown motor and gear reducer I5 which, as shown in Figures 2 and 4, may be mounted upon one of the side frames. Energization of the motor I5 in the forward or reverse direction will result in right or left hand rotation of the threaded shafts III, both shafts rotating simultaneously and in the same direction. Over-all gauge adjustment may thus be effected by suitable'controls for motor I5,

It is necessary, however, to provide differential screwdown adjustment to take care-of edge gauge, camber, and the like. In other words, means should be provided for the differential or the individual rotation of the threaded shafts I0. To this end, I cause the chain or other drive I3 to pass around a number of sprockets or sheaves (marked I4), which are fixedl mounted on the frame of the mill. Also, it passes around other sheaves or sprockets I8 (Figure 2), which are mounted upon a cross head or frame I9 slidable in ways upon the mill frame. As shown, the cross head I9 is vertically slidable in ways on the front flange portion of the top bridge or cross brace 33 of the mill. On this flange are also mounted certain of the fixed sheaves or sprockets I4. In the path of the chain I3, it passes around one of the sheaves I8 in its upper flight and around the other of the sheaves I8 in its lower flight.

Referring to Figure 2, it will be understood from this arrangement that if the cross head I9 is moved upwardly, the chain drive I3 will be effectively lengthened in its upper flight and shortened in its lower flight. If the chain is free to move, the right hand threaded shaft will be rotated clockwise, While the left hand threaded shaft will be rotated counterclockwise. A reverse action will occur if the cross head be lowered. If, on the other hand, locking means is provided in connection with the motor and gear combination I5 as, for example, a magnetically actuated brake which releases only when motor I5 is energized, then 2. raising or lowering of the cross head I9 will result in counterclockwise or clockwise rotation of the left hand threaded shaft III, while the right hand threaded shaft remains stationary. In either instance, however, differential screwdown adjustment is effected.

For raising and lowering the cross head I9, I connect it by means of a link or pitman 2I to a crank arm 20 on the shaft of a gear reducer 22 driven by a motor 23 (Figures 2 and 5). In the arrangement shown, it is convenient to mount the motor and the gear reducer on the horizontal, shelf-like portion of the upper transverse bridge or brace 33. By appropriate controls, the motor 23 may be energized in the forward or reverse directions for differential screwdown control.

The portions 4" for roll 4 are prevented from descending too far in the window opening I by a shelf or abutment configuration, best shown at 'I' in Figure 3. In the chock mounting and arrangement herein described, it is easy to remove the work rolls 5 and 6. The roll 4 is prevented from descending too far by means just described, while the chocks 2" for the roll 2,are provided with the suspensions hereinabove described. On or in the bottom transverse brace or bridge 36, I mount or form an hydraulic cylinder 21, the piston 28 of which is provided with a cross head or transverse shaft 42, to which are pivotally mounted a pair of shoes 43. These shoes, raised from beneath by the piston, contact the outer edges of the rings 1 and lift them up. The balance frames 8 are urged upwardly by hydraulic piston and cylinder arrangement 26 (Figure 6) formed in or attached to side frame members 1. These cylinders and pistons may be actuated as desired, or they can be left continuously under hydraulic pressure from an accumulator, not shown. By these means, roll changes may readily be effected in the mill.

Conventional strip guides are preferably employed and are indicated at 30, mounted upon the transverse braces 34 and 35. A bridge 44 may be formed integral with or to span across the upper ends of the balance frames 8 at approximately that portion of the frames where the chocks 24 and 25 are located. This bridge may be recessed for the passage of the strip to be rolled and may also be provided with means for delivering a rolling lubricant to the strip, together with wipers and the like.

Modifications may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit of it. Having thus described my invention in an exemplary embodiment, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a mill, a frame including side members with windows, mill rolls including a pair of relatively small working rolls and three backing rolls journaled in substantial alignment in bearings slidable with respect to said frame in said windows, said rolls having central working and supporting portions, and the outer ones of said rolls having outlying necks,for contacting the inside surfaces of load sustaining rings, the bearings for said last mentioned rolls lying outwardly beyond said rings, a pair of load sustaining rings engaging the necks of said lastmentioned rolls, and means for moving said rings to adjust the mill pressure, said means comprising rotating means engaging the inner surfaces of the rings and journaled in bearings slidable in transverse branches of said windows and means for moving said last mentioned bearings in said branches and with respect to said aligned rolls.

2. In a mill, a frame including side members with windows, mill rolls including a pair of relatively small working rolls and three backing rolls journaled in substantial alignment in bearings slidable with respect to said frame in said windows, said rolls having central working and sup- 3. The structure claimed in claim 1, wherein the bearings for the said work rolls and the bearings for any supporting roll located at one ing and supporting surfaces, said supporting rolls having outlying necks for engaging the inner surfaces of load supporting rings, said supporting rolls having end extensions provided with bearings and mounted in chocks, the chocks for two of said supporting rolls being slidably mounted in said window, the chocks for the third of said supporting rolls being mounted in supplementary frame means slidable in said last mentioned window, chocks for said working rolls, said chocks being also mounted in said supplementary frame means, load sustaining rings engaging the necks of the outer ones of said supporting rolls, means in said windows for limiting the movement of the chocks of an inner supporting roll, suspending means for the chocks of another supporting roll, means for moving said supplementary frame means in said window, and means for adjusting the position of said load sustaining rings to vary screwdown pressure.

5..In a mill frame, means including side frame members having windows therein, an aligned assembly comprising two work rolls and three supporting rolls, said rolls having central working and supporting surfaces, said supporting rolls having outlying necks for engaging the inner surfaces of load supporting rings, said supporting rolls having end extensions provided with bearings and mounted in chocks, the chocks for porting portions, and the outer ones of said rolls having outlying necks for contacting the inside surfaces of load sustaining rings, the bearings for said last mentioned rolls lying outwardly beyond said rings, a pair of load sustaining rings 'engaging the necks of said last mentioned rolls,

and means for moving said rings to adjust the mill pressure, said means comprising rotating means engaging the inner surfaces of the rings and journaled in bearings slidable in transverse branches of said Windows and means for moving said last mentioned bearings in said branches and with respect to said aligned -rolls, said rotating means being neck portions on a roll-like member journaled in said bearings.

two of-said supporting rolls being slidably mounted in said window, the chocks for the third of said supporting rolls being mounted in supplementary frame means slidable in said last mentioned window, chocks for said working rolls, said chocks being also mounted in said frame means, load sustaining rings engaging the necks of the outer ones of said supporting rolls, means in said windows for limiting the movement of the chocks of an inner supporting roll, suspending means for the chocks of another supporting roll, means for moving said supplementary frame means in said window, and means for adjusting the position of said load sustaining rings to vary screwdown pressure, and means movable to support said rings when it is desired to change rolls.

6. In a mill frame, means including side frame members having windows therein, an aligned assembly comprising two Work rolls and three supporting rolls, said rolls having central workfaces of load supporting rings, said supporting rolls having endextensions provided with bearings and mounted in chocks, the chocks for two I of said supporting rolls being slidably mounted in said window, the chocks for the third of said supporting rolls being mounted in supplementary frame means slidable in said last mentioned Window, chocksfor said working rolls, said chocks being also mounted in said frame means, load sustaining rings engaging the necks of the outer ones of said supporting rolls, means in said windows for limiting the movement of the chocks of an inner supporting roll, suspending means for the chocks of another supporting roll, means for moving said supplementary frame means in said window, and means for adjusting the position of said loadsustaining rings to vary screwdown pressure, and means movable to support said rings when it is desired to change rolls, said means for positioning said rings comprising a rotating member with necks engaging the inner surfaces of said rings, bearings on other portions of said rotating member, and means for moving said bearings so as to move said member in a said window, the chocks for the third of said supporting rolls being mounted in supplementary frame means slidable in said last mentioned window, chocks for said working rolls, said chocks being also mounted in said frame means, load sustaining rings engaging the necks of the outer ones of said supporting rolls, means in said windows for limiting the movement of the chocks of an inner supporting roll, suspending means for the chocks of another supporting roll, means for moving said supplementary frame means in said window, and means for adjusting the position of said load sustaining rings to vary screwdown pressure, and means movable to support said rings when it is desired to change rolls, said means for positioning said rings comprising a rotating member with necks engaging the inner surfaces of said rings, bearings on other portions of said rotating member, and means for moving said bearings so as to move said member in a direction substantially radial to the inside surfaces of said rings, said work rolls having chocks and said her with necks engaging the inner surfaces of said rings, bearings on other portions of said rotating member, and means for moving said bearings so as to move said member in a direction substantially radial to the inside surfaces of said rings, said work rolls having chocks and said chocks mounted in said supplementary frame means so as to be movable therewith, said means for moving the bearings of said positioning member comprising means for effecting simultaneous and equal movements thereof and means for effecting differential movements thereof.

9. In a ring-type mill having end frame members and a stack of working and supporting rolls. outlying rolls having necks, load supporting rings engaging said necks, and acting to withstand rolling pressures, bearing means for said rolls, means for maintaining said bearing means in alignment, comprising chocks slidable on windows in said end frame members and means for adjustin rolling pressure comprising rotating means engaging the inner surfaces of said rings and journaled in bearings slidable in windows in said end frame members, and actuable toward and away from said stack of working and supporting rolls to move said rings to centers of rotation differing in location as respects said stack of rolls.

10. In a ring-type mill, a pair of relatively small working rolls, a relatively large supportin roll on one side of said pair and two relatively large working rolls on the other side of said pair forming a five-high stack, outlying ones of said supporting rolls having necks for engaging inner surfaces of load sustaining rings, said rolls having chocks mounted in said supplementary frame means so as to be movable therewith.

8. In a mill frame, means including side frame members having windows therein, an aligned assembly comprising two work rolls and three supporting rolls, said rolls having central working and supporting surfaces, said supporting rolls having outlying necks for engaging the inner surfaces of load supporting rings, said supporting rolls having end extensions provided with bearings and mounted in chocks, the chocks for two of said supporting rolls being slidably mounted in said window, the chocks for the third of said supporting rolls being mounted in supplementary frame means slidable in said last mentioned windoW, chocks for said working rolls, said chocks being also mounted in saidframe means, loa'd sustaining rings engaging the necks of the outer ones of said supporting rolls, means in said Windows for limiting the movement of the chocks of an inner supporting roll, suspending means for the chocks of another supporting roll, means for moving said supplementary frame means in said window, and means for adjusting the position of said load sustaining rings to vary screwdown pressure, and means movable to support said rings when it is desired to change rolls, said means for positioning said rings comprising a rotating membearings and means for maintaining said hearings in alignment, load sustaining rings, means for moving said rings with respect to said stack to vary screwdown pressure, means for lifting said rings when changing rolls, means for suspending one of said supporting rolls, means limiting the movement of another of said supporting rolls, and means engaging the third of said supporting rolls together with the two work rolls for moving said three last mentioned rolls as a unit.

11. In mill screwdown control assemblies, the combination of a pair of threaded shafts effective for screwdown purposes at opposite ends of a roll assembly, means for rotating said shafts comprising sprocket means affixed to said shafts, a flexible drive engaging said sprockets, and a prime mover having a sprocket also engaging said flexible drive, said prime mover acting through said drive to rotate said shafts concurrently and substantially equally in directions to increase and to relieve screwdown pressures, and means for rotating said shafts differentially comprising movable means acting upon said flexible drive to move portions thereof with respect to said first mentioned sprockets equally and oppositely.

12. In a mill screwdown device, a frame, a pair of threaded members mounted with respect to said frame to control screwdown pressures at opposite ends of the roll assembly, sprockets on said rotating members, a prime mover, a sprocket in connection therewith, sprockets on said frame, a sub-frame movable with respect to said first mentioned frame, sprockets on said sub-frame, and a flexible drive engaging all of said sprockets, said drive being movable by said prime mover to effect concurrent rotation of said threaded members in the same effective direction and said subframe acting through its sprockets on oppositeiy moving portions of said flexible drive to effeet differential rotation of said threaded membars, and a second prime mover to move said subrame.

13. In a mill screwdown, means comprising a pair or rotating threaded members adapted to control screwdown pressures at opposite ends of a roll assembly, and means for rotating said threaded members comprising a prime mover and i a chainlike flexible drive interconnecting said prime mover and said threaded members whereby said prime mover can rotate said threaded members in the same effective direction concurrently, a second prime mover and means in connection with said second prime mover for acting upon portions only of said flexible drive to move said portions equally and oppositely to effect differential movement of said threaded rotating members, irrespective of the operation of said first mentioned prime mover. r

14. In amill, a pairof spaced frames. transverse bridging means engaging and spacing said frames, said frames having vertical windows therein, each window having a horizontal branch, a five-high series of rolls journaled in bearings movable with respect to said frames, certain of said bearings being movable within said windows, a sub-frame movable within said windows, certain other of said bearings being movable with said subframe, means for moving said subframe, outer ones of said rolls having necks engageable by load supporting rings, load support- 80 mg rings engaging said necks on the inner surfaces of said rings, a ixth roll, bearings for said sixth roll movable-in said window branches, necks on said sixth roll engaging the inner surfaces of gaging all of said sprockets, a prime mover on said cross brace, means in connection therewith for moving said sub-frame, moving means at- I tached to a lower cross brace and having shoes for engaging and lifting said rings and strip guiding means mounted on others of said cross braces.

. EDWIN B. HUDSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

v UNITED STATES PljKTENTS,

Number Name Date 216,750 Mechwart June 24, 1879 1,825,957 Johnson Oct. 6, 1931 1,990,051 Schreck Feb. 5, 1935 1,908,268 Palmgren May 9, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 267,140 Great Britain Mar. 4, 1927 3,934 Great Britain Dec. 24, 1868 

